January 2015 Geocacher Profile

The Membership Relations Committee is happy to showcase some ArkGeo Geocachers through the "Geocacher Profile". The committee thought Dan, Cody, & Caleb Anderson aka LostBoys2007 should be the next cachers to be in the spotlight.

What is your geocaching name? LostBoys2007
How did you choose your handle? From the Peter Pan Misfits called the LostBoys and 2007 for the year we started.

How long have you been geocaching? 7 years

How did you find your first Geocache, and which one was it? I had heard of Geocaching and read a little bit on the internet so I bought myself a GPSr at Gander Mountain on Black Friday of 2007…I acted surprised when I opened it on Christmas day, we got on the Computer, found a couple in town and wrote down all the information and went hunting…and hunted….and hunted some more. Couldn’t find it, didn’t have a clue what we were doing and didn’t know anyone else who Geocached. So we came back home, looked up some more information and went back to the antique store to look some more…still couldn’t find it, so we gave up on that one at the time and went to Jail Time in Jacksonville and found it right away! It had Hot Wheels in it and the boys were hooked! Cody was 10 and Caleb was 6 at the time.
Who usually goes with you when you go caching? For the first few years, the boys almost always went, KTJx2, Bates Gang, Crazy Cowboy and Cabot_Fish were all regular cachers with us. Now it is usually Cabot_Fish, Crazy Cowboy and myself when we can work out our schedules.

How long will you work on puzzle caches before you give up? Puzzles?? There are puzzle caches out there??? Whoda thunk it….Ok, so I will work on them for a little while, but then move on. Cabot_Fish and Crazy Cowboy like them much better than I and will work until they solve them….and we will all go hunt for them.

What town/areas have you most enjoyed caching in? When we first started caching, Searcy was the Cache mecca to us. It had the most and the best caches as far as we knew, at the time. There were some great caches in Hawaii, Birmingham, OKC, Wichita and Branson also.

Do you do paperless caching? It is funny to look back at all the Notebooks I used when we first started, I would write down as much info as possible for each cache we planned on doing that night. Then we got serious and downloaded all the stuff on a Palm Pilot for a couple years….Then I finally upgraded to a GPSr that would hold pocket queries and show the cache info….and now the caching app on the IPhone makes it easy to look everything up and cache with….still keep my GPSr close at hand though!

What kind of geocaching rig do you use? Started with a Garmin eTrex Venture HC after about 3.5 years upgraded to a Garmin Colorado 400i…and use the Iphone6 some as well…I know, I know….what can I say, it’s easy and convenient.

Why would you recommend anyone else to take up geocaching? Geocaching gets you out of the house, chasing treasure, and making memories! The things you see, the conversations, the fun you have and the quality time with friends and family caching….priceless!

Where are you originally from? Harrisonville Missouri, chose Little Rock Air Force Base as my first choice base and got it. Married an Arkansas girl and stayed.
In what states have you geocached? So far we have gotten 41 states including Hawaii and Alaska, the District of Columbia and Canada. Military travels sure help pick up other states!
What was your first event ever attended? January 23, 2009 Hometown Hero Event in Searcy.

How many caches have you found? 5546 caches…and counting.

Which type of cache container do you prefer over the rest? I love to find creative well crafted caches, ones that look like they belong or really blend in with their surroundings. Cody Loves the hard ones, the ones that make you think, and Caleb loves big ones and any one he can get to first!
What was the most famous cache that you have found? I guess Gorilla Stash GC1B would be the oldest and most famous we have found.
Do you use disposable batteries or rechargeable batteries? Disposable Lithium batteries.

Do you enjoy hiding or finding more as your part of the hobby? After we had been caching a while the boys and I would come up with ideas and go out in the garage and create caches and hide them…so much fun and good times together. Having said that, we love going out and finding them too!

Do you have a personal goal in mind when you make a hide? We always try to make it a little bit different and somewhat challenging, but fun.

What is you favorite type of cache hide? The craftsman or craftswoman cache…one that is well thought out, designed and hidden.

Out of all your hides, what are your personal favorites that you take pride in? My original FBC cache that was a locked ammo can with the key inside and a series of PVC piping to get the key out to unlock it…a different twist on a monkey cache and Dirty Shoes the boys came up with the idea, the name and helped make most of it.
What do you think the proper hide to find ratio should be to keep the sport fresh? I am guilty of this, so I would say a ratio that you can maintain…many thanks to Butch724 and others for helping keep ours up!

How did you end up getting into this wacky hobby? I first heard of it on the internet I think and being an outdoor, adventure kind of activity, I just knew we had to try it!

What's your favorite geocache? After over 5000 caches, it is hard to pick just one, but Several of WoodWalker9’s in Searcy would have to be at the top, Rave, Yahoo, Illuminating Louis etc…not even sure those are the correct names, but they were very memorable for the boys and I.
If money was no object, where would you like to go geocaching? Australia, Europe and Japan.

Do you like geocaching by yourself or in a group? Cabot_Fish and I have cached so much together, we have a system down pat that works very well. But I will take off by myself in a heartbeat for a little caching time if everyone else is busy.

How many First to Finds do you have? Not sure, we used to be very competitive in the FTF race, I think it’s between 80 and 90.

Are you a First to Find person who is always set on go and if so, how many miles out do you have your settings on to get notifications? We used to always be set on go, and still have a 30mile notification set up….still go when I can…it’s fun being first!

Do you have any other hobbies besides geocaching? Almost too many to list…Baseball, Xbox 360(Caleb), Golf, Trap Shooting and Hunting(Cody) We do those things together as well as Camping, Hunting, riding 4 wheelers, biking, working on cars, going to car shows and races, anything fun together!